Editor, revised

I recently stumbled upon the forums at twentysomethingjournalist and joined the party.

Realizing that as of mid-September I’ll only have a year of eligibility left, I took the occasion to check out what other forums for journalists are out there. Below is a rundown.

Twentysomethingjournalist

Overview: This is a new kid on the block, started by Justin McLachlan. The focus is evident in the name. Although in a post titled “reverse ageism,” Justin writes that excluding older journalists was not the point and that “I think ‘twenty something journalist” is more a state of mind than an actual age.’” Registration required to participate.

Example boards: New Media Tools, How tos and Technical Help, Freelance, College (for student journalists)

Activity: People have been commenting this morning. More than 350 posts altogether. Looks to be about 20 regular users. Most of the posts have been from the forum’s founder, Justin, which is understandable for such a new site.

Quality of discourse: Excellent so far. Participants are respectful and stay on topic as far as I’ve seen.

Journalism.co.uk

Overview: Forums for (evidently) working journalists, mostly in the U.K. Tightly focused with six main boards. Registration required to participate.

Example boards: Ask Journalism.co.uk, Case Studies Wanted, Work Experience

Activity: The admin helpfully posts these stats: 1690 Posts in 772 Topics by 1339 Members. Few posts appear to generate more than a handful of responses, but most receive views in the hundred.

Quality of discourse: Cordial and on-topic.

American Copy Editors Society

Overview: Powered and geared toward copy editors who belong to ACES. I checked this site off and on again while I was a copy editor. Posters and commenters share tips, let off steam and stay in touch with their craft. Registration required to participate.

Example boards: Grammar, Style and Usage; General Grousing; Small Papers Forum

Activity: From the admins: “Our users have posted a total of 5741 articles. We have 332 registered users.” Quite participatory, with many posts receiving replies in the double digits. A few names turn up quite frequently but in no way hog the show.

Quality of discourse: Largely civil and on-topic. A few rants pop up, and a few of the comments take a strong negative tone. But these seem to be in the minority.

Testy Copy Editors

Overview: I wouldn’t want to slight another time-tested copy editing forum. The posts are often off-the-cuff and lively with a good dose of wit. Registration required to participate.

Example boards: General Discussion, Nightmare Jobs of the Week, Difficult to Categorize. (BTW, how would you like this gig?)

Activity: From the admins: “Our users have posted a total of 62772 articles. We have 1543 registered users.” Definitely a few leaders of the pack for posts, but the view-counters suggest diverse readership. The number of replies mostly hovers in the single digits.

Quality of discourse: Friendly, intelligent and on-topic.

Journalism @ Topix

Overview: An extremely forum with no registration required. Topics alternate between news industry items and news stories. Discussion often seems to be about the substance of the news rather than the way its covered. Not a whole lot of inside baseball here. Exceptions exist.

Example boards: There’s just one. Posts are organized in reverse chronological order. Three recent posts:

• McCain protests NBC coverage
• We need to stop being such cowards about Islam
• For real presidential material, only total honesty, please

Activity: Frequent new posts, with as many 10 in a day. Many different people originating posts, although the lack of registration could let a few hardcore regulars disguise their identities.

Quality of discourse: All over the place. Some people appear to be here for genuine discussion, others for invective. I have not conducted a meaningful sample, but I don’t think I’d be out of line to suggest the majority of participants lean right.

What else?
I’m sure I’ve missed some, and I’ll acknowledge the copy-editing-heavy focus. If this proves a popular post, I’ll write about other journalism forums I find. Suggestions welcome!